Tomorrow
by Everliah
Summary: Sometimes Love is like a fairytale sweeping you off your feet and into another world where everything is perfect and nothing could ever hurt you or bring you down from your euphoria. Sometimes people say it hurts..But Love does not hurt. Envy hurts. Rejection hurts. Loss hurts. And in the end, Love is the only thing that can make everything all wonderful again. I only own the plot.
1. Chapter 1

The crowd was silent. Something wasn't right yet the music was still playing, getting quiter and quieter, though still playing. The grief-racked sobs that escaped from the boy's body were heart-wrenching, tearing at the emotions of everyone watching. "No, Cedric, no!" The harsh yells filled the silence of the humid summer air, telling all who listen by the tone of his voice, that something wasn't right. She felt her breath catch in her throat shakily, tears spilling over the rims of her brown eyes that, only moments ago, had held such happiness and triumph. Her chest constricted painfully and she exhaled, although the breath came out as a cry. More of the crowd had caught on and were either whispering or crying, even though most hardly knew the young man who lay, body down, on the gr0und. But she had. She'd known him. She'd danced with him. She'd laughed with him. She'd talked to him. She'd touched him. She'd kissed him... She'd wanted to tell him. Tomorrow.

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She pulled the cloak tighter around her petite body, the unmistakable sound of a sniffle and badly hidden sob breaking the silence. Her hair was wild and untamed, gently blowing in the small cold breeze that had picked up on the shore of the Black Lake. He'd been watching her for a while. He'd been minding his own business, just messing about with his friends; Jamie and Scott, when he saw her rush past them. Luckily his friends had been too busy talking and joking to notice her much but he saw the tear trails through the curtain of hair that had shielded her face and instantly made an excuse to follow her. Now, he was glad he did. Now Cedric Diggory was not a shallow, empty-headed idiot with a big ego, like most people thought, he was clever and could easily have landed himself in Ravenclaw, and with his undeniable good looks, many of the female population at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were drooling at his feet, although he wasn't like Malfoy, who used his looks to his advantage. He merely smiled at any girls giggling when he walked past, trying and obviously succeeding in hiding his annoyance. However, not all of the girls in the school were charmed by him and Hermione Granger was one of them. Cedric really didn't know why he was so surprised, he'd often spotted in the Library, which he'd soon found out was actually her sanctuary, reading and writing at every chance she had. She definitely didn't seem like one of those girls who dolled themselves up or, as he referred to it, caked themselves in beauty products so much so that they looked fake, and like a real life walking-talking Muggle Barbie Doll, just to impress guys. No, she seemed like she actually had something in that pretty head of hers other than spells on how to make her hair sleek and shiny. Oh yes, he'd heard tales of the infamous Miss Granger plenty of times in his lessons! And he was a sixth year, two years older than her! He mentally did a retake as he realised he'd labelled her head as pretty... Well, there was no denying she wasn't pretty, in a quirky natural sort of way. The way her skin was absolutely flawless and bronze in the sunlight and her brown doe-like eyes that seemed a dull shade, but on further inspection shone and ignited with swirls of caramel and flecks of green and blue. Her hair though... Cedric chuckled to himself, so untamed and free. Much like its owner, he supposed.  
His eyes widened comically and he vigorously shook his head, as he noticed he was rambling on about how attractive a fourth year Gryffindor whom he knew nothing about was. And to himself, as well. He was going mad.  
"Stupid idiot, god Ced!" He said rather loudly, hitting his forehead and gaining the attention from the witch that had brought it all on. He paused and met her confused and alarmed eyes. So many emotions rested in her eyes. He'd never really understood and thought much about the saying 'the eyes are the window to the soul' before but now, now he understood perfectly. Her brown eyes held such sadness that it made his heart twinge slightly, even knowing that he did not cause it, and when mixed with alarm, curiosity, suspicion, anger and many more powerful negative emotions, he felt suddenly guilty that he'd been spying on her, whether or not she knew, he figured she'd find out soon anyway. She wasn't called the Brightest Witch of her Age for nothing! He gave her a hesitant smile and she replied with one of her own, though it didn't take a genius to know it was fake. He made his way over to her and sat on the ground next to her.  
"Hey..." he offered awkwardly, hoping to diffuse some of the tension of being caught spying on her by talking.  
"Hi," her voice was bland, cut off from him and Cedric knew she was trying hard to uphold her strong-willed image.  
"What's up?" He forced his voice to sound casual, though it was harder said than done.  
"Why do you care? So that you can tell all your little friends and they can all laugh at me?" She spat venomously, avoiding his eye contact as she stared out at the lake.  
"No! Why would I do that?" He was hurt that she would think so lowly of him, but of course she would, he mentally slapped himself, she hadn't even officially met him; only at the Quidditch World Cup, of course she'd figure he was another idiot boy. She sniffed and wiped a stray tear that had fallen.  
"Urgh, I'm sorry. I just...I mean, you don't even know me! Of course I know you, you're the infamous Cedric Diggory, heartthrob of Hogwarts School and currently Triwizard Champion. Whereas I'm just old plain-Jane bookworm Granger, best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, the brains behind 'The Golden Trio' and resident goody-two-shoes Mudblood!" Cedric couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped his mouth. How could she call herself such a horrid name? He grimaced, although with Malfoy as a tormentor for four years, he had a hunch.  
"Of course I know who you are. You're Hermione Granger; beautiful, smart and far from plain. You've battled He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named more times that any fully aged wizard I know and saved Harry's arse and the school more times than I can remember! I mean, pretty much all the Professors I have use you as an example and I'm a Sixth year!" He could see her biting the inside of her cheek to stop a smile from spreading and water flooding her eyes again. He quietened his voice. "And you're not a Mudblood. Not at all. That suggests you have dirty blood and your blood is far from it! Your blood is full of talent and promise and strong-will..." he had taken her hand and was smudging some blood from her hand around her skin softly. She watched his finger, transfixed. But by his actions or his words, he did not know. After what seemed like an age, she looked up and into his eyes, an unfamiliar glint and sparkle present in her own.  
"Thank you Cedric," she whispered, most likely not trusting her voice.  
"It's not a problem, Hermione," he said, just as quietly, still tracing soothing patterns on her hand and smiling gently down at her.


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed as if everything was in slow motion. His father ran down the steps, pushing whoever was in the way to get to his only son, his only child. His mother followed numbly, hand covering mouth, eyes wide with horror as she took in the sigh of her baby's limp body lying on the grass. Harry had been pulled off him and taken somewhere by Professor Moody but she couldn't worry about him. He was alive...and breathing. He'd get a chance to grow up. To watch his bride walk down the aisle. To witness his baby being born. To get a job. To grow old with his loved ones. Yet the boy laying on the floor, the boy who deserved it more than anyone, in her opinion, wouldn't have the chance to do any of that...

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He couldn't take his eyes off her. He knew he'd only met her twice, only spoken to her once, but she was on his mind 24/7. Like an infectious cough that just wouldn't go away however much you wanted it to, although, he wasn't sure if he even wanted it to go. He was only mildly aware of his friends laughing but all the noise around him was muffled, as though it was only himself and her in an invisible box, sealing them off from the real world, where Death Eaters ran loose and wild, torturing and murdering anyone and everyone on sight, where the dangerous possibilities of the upcoming tasks for the Triwizard Tournament were like leeches on his back, not necessarily loud and clear in his mind but always there, nagging. He realised he must have been staring but he didn't care. It hurt to draw his eyes away from her face for a second so he didn't. He ignored the rumbling of his stomach and welcomed the familiar jolt of fluttering in his chest when she smiled at something the Potter boy had said to her.

"Ohmygod Hermione!" Ginny said suddenly, drawing Hermione's eyes away from her book that currently rested in her lap, and to the red head's face, a frown playing upon her brows.  
"What, Gin?" She asked curiously, looking back and forth between Harry, Ron and Ginny, hoping they had some sort of explanation for the youngest Weasley's actions. She blushed a very violent shade of red that it clashed with her hair and, eyes widening, she turned to Hermione, a massive grin spreading across her face.  
"The Cedric Diggory is staring... At YOU!" She answered excitedly, giggling uncontrollably as she looked back at the Hufflepuff in question. The bushy-haired witch followed her friend's gaze, ignoring the boy's snorts, and caught eye contact with none other than Cedric Diggory. He grinned a very Cheshire-cat-like grin, and nodded towards Ginny, who was still blushing and biting her lip to stop herself from giggling again. Hermione rolled her eyes and she knew he'd obviously triggered this girly mode in Ginny.

Cedric saw her red-headed friend whisper something eagerly to Hermione, who reluctantly looked up from her book and frowned at her. He switched his stare from Hermione to the Weasley girl, immediately catching her eye, winking and smiling at her. Luckily, it had the desired effect and she broke into a fit of giggles, turning a beetroot red within a couple of seconds. Although, it did gain Hermione's attention and soon her chocolate brown orbs with fixated on his. Silently they communicated by the simple smile or roll of the eyes, and Cedric couldn't help but notice the progress of the small smile playing at her lips grace her entire face.  
"Oi Ced!" He snapped his head to the neck and cursed. Rubbing the back of his neck slightly in an attempt to ease the agonising shoots of pain, he turned to glare at his two friends who, much to his bewilderment replied to his grimace with very similar looks of amusement.  
"What?" He all but growled.  
"Oh you know, we were just innocently talking about homework and more educational topics," Cedric snorted, knowing his friends too well to know that they were far from talking about that. "And we couldn't agree on which was the more terrible of the two subjects; Potions or History of Magic, so we decided to ask our dear old bestie-" Scott started when Jamie cut him off.  
"You, mate!" Cedric sarcastically nodded, giving them both an overly sweet smile.  
"And anyways," Scott continued, dramatizing his speech by adding the typical hand over heart action. "We asked you about your opinion because it matters so much to us-"  
"Oh so much!"  
"And you were too busy staring at the Gryffindor Table!"  
"Mutiny!" Jamie cried, gaining more Hufflepuff's attention when pointing at his friend.  
"But not just at any Gryffindor, oh no! Mr. Diggory, you were staring at the Gryffindor Princess!" Cedric snorted into his goblet when he heard that.  
"Princess? Really? Where did that come from, then?" Jamie shrugged mumbling something about Gryffindor's using the nickname when she wasn't around because she was the main reason they won most things academically.  
"But yes, her!" They both lost their dramatic senses and became serious.  
"She's two years younger mate."  
"Age is only a number!" Cedric replied, carefully dusting off some food that had somehow made its way onto his trousers.  
"Plus she's going out with Potter!" That did it. Cedric stood up suddenly, only saying a simple 'she bloody better not be', before storming out of the Great Hall. Before he left however, he noticed the absence of a certain witch at the Gryffindor Table...  
He could hear his friends coming after him as he made a bee-line for the library, knowing she couldn't be too far ahead. And he was right, she was about half way up the next corridor but unfortunately for him, Scott and Jamie were right behind him.  
"Go get thou love, Romeo!" Jamie called out in an old medieval accent, promptly gaining Hermione's curiosity. He replied with a very rude hand gesture, and was greeted with the sound of her giggling.  
"Hi Cedric," she said as soon as his friends were out of view and he'd caught up to her.  
"Hey there Hermione."  
"So what are you doing here?" She asked, frowning up at him, she had always been small, Cedric knew that, he'd just never thought she was that small; she only reached his collar bone.  
"What can a guy not go to the library without having any motive?" He smirked and automatically regretted his sarcastic comment as she flushed and muttered a reply under her breath. They were almost there and one could practically feel the awkwardness in the air. So Cedric just blurted out the first thing that came to his head.  
"Did you know you're known as the Gryffindor Princess?" The tension immediately melted as she started spluttering, shaking her head. Obviously not... They both laughed hysterically and when they turned their separate ways at the Library, he couldn't help but notice how could it sounded... My Princess...


	3. Chapter 3

The screams pierced the air. The band had fallen silent and people were watching avidly as his father wailed. His mother's face was streaked with tears; tears that held promise and sorrow, anger and loss, loneliness and love. All directed to the boy that lay in the centre of the Quidditch Pitch; his once safe haven, the place that brought him joy and the place that he first realised just what she was to him.

*last year- third year Hermione, fourth year Cedric*

"COME ON CED!"

"BEHIND YOU!"

"NO!"

"COME ON MAN, YOU CAN DO THIS!"

The chorus of Hufflepuffs shouting their encouragement fell deaf on his ears. He could hear the swish of cloaks flying passed him as the quaffle was thrown up and down the pitch. His eyes were scouring the pitch for that tell-tale sign of gold that would help him win the match against the Snake House. Suddenly, a flash of red caught his attention. Among the crowd of yellow, he could see a head of bushy brown hair sporting a red scarf that stuck out like a sore thumb. He could make out her face, red from the cold and pure. He had always thought Hermione Granger was beautiful; she was innocent, smart and kind to everyone. And didn't throw herself at him like the majority of the girls in school. She frowned and stopping and, as if sensing his eyes on her, turned to look up at him. Her eyes squinted as the wind blew vigorously against her face and as soon as her eyes met his, she blushed slightly, offering him a smile. He smiled back, swallowing a lump in his throat.

Just for a moment, the world around them stopped. The players seemed to freeze in mid-air, their expressions wild and desperate, their positions seemingly denying the laws of gravity. The crowd's yells and reassuring screams dulled to a faint buzz gnawing at the back of both their minds. Just for a moment, it was the two of them, both equally enraptured in a spell only the other could break. Brown met grey. Red met yellow. Lion met badger.

An abrupt movement brought the paused world back into focus. It was hovering just above the teacher's tower and, after a quick glance at the opposing seeker, Malfoy, who remained as ever impassive and oblivious, Cedric zoomed after the little golden Snitch. Malfoy finally caught on after a while of chasing and was hot on his heels. He wasn't fast enough however, and although everyone else seemed to know it, he persistently leaned forward on his broom, growling at it to go faster.

All of a sudden, he heard his pursuer stop and frowned, wondering why. Maybe he had a brain in that thick blonde head of his after all… or maybe, he had noticed that the Snitch was surely leading them into the Hufflepuff crowd of yellow. Students leapt out of the way of the broom as he flew through them, shouting half-hearted apologies after him. He slit his eyes against the rain and reached out, feeling the broom wobble slightly underneath him. His fingers closed around the small ball, its wings tickling the callouses of his hand. He grinned triumphantly, only just noticing the path his broom was travelling in. He flinched, pulling the tip of the wood upwards at the last minute and coming face to face with Hermione Granger.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth parted slightly. He was breathing heavily, the air leaving his lips in small white tendrils, blending with hers before floating upwards. She gulped and he found himself drawn to her lips, which were plump and pink and utterly kissable…

A loud cheer brought him out of reverie. He grinned at Granger, winking, and thrust his hand containing the Snitch into the air. This, of course, made the crowd scream wilder at their victory. His team members quickly dragged him onto the pitch where he was bombarded by supporters congratulating him. He craned his neck, scanning the pitch and bleachers for that familiar head of hair. He spotted it at the exit and excused himself before running off to meet her. Somewhere to his right, he heard Draco Malfoy defending himself as the Captain of the Snakes snarled at him; "I wasn't about to ride straight into a crowd of Mudbloods and Blood Traitors, I'd rather not taint myself with the likes of that!"

Cedric rolled his eyes, panting as he slowed to a stop in the grounds. He found her straight away and immediately started to call for her.

"Hey! Granger! Wait up!" She turned to face him, a confused frown gracing her face, until she recognised him as the speaker, and it was replaced with a pleasant smile.

"Hi Cedric," she greeted warmly.

"Hey Gr-Hermione," he panted, secretly liking the sound of his name on her lips. "Did anyone ever tell you, woman, that you walk damn fast!" He clutched a hand at his side, where a stitch was relentlessly aching, bending over to try catch his breath. She laughed.

"So you can easily last however long on the Quidditch Pitch in the air but you can't chase a fourteen year old girl ten meters?"

"Up a hill," he pointed out, eyebrows raised.

"Oh yes," she agreed, nodding seriously, although the small smile playing at her lips gave it away. "I forgot about that." He grinned and stood tall.

"Where's Potter and Weasley?" He asked nonchalantly, as they continued to walk towards the castle. Almost as soon as he said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to ask. Her previous smile dropped and she stared out ahead of her, trying to stop the tears from building up in her eyes.

"Hey Granger- er, Hermione, what's wrong?" He pulled gently on her arm so she stopped moving and faced him.

"I- we've fallen out." She replied in a small voice, refusing to meet his gaze. Cedric felt an overwhelming surge of anger spread through him.

"Why?"

"Well… You see- Harrygotanewbroomasapresentanditdidn'tcomewithanoteandwhatwithrecenteventsIjustassumeditwasfromSiriusBlackthemassmurderwhomayormaynotbeafterHarry'sbloodanditgotconfiscatedandnowthey'rebothangryatmeandIdon'tknowwhattodo!" She exclaimed in one breath.

"Woah, woah Hermy, you gotta slow down!" She cringed at his nickname, tears spilling over her eyes.

"Hermy?" Cedric laughed nervously.

"Not good?" He asked, and she shook her head. "It was the first thing that came into my head," he admitted. "Now go on, you were saying? Oh, and this time speak English. I'm afraid, whilst I'm fluent in French and a little Latin, my father thought against it to teach me crazy girl talk…" She hit him, hard.

"Sorry, couldn't resist."

Sighing, she translated, "Harry got a new broom as a present and it didn't come with a note and what with recent events I just assumed it was from Sirius Black the mass murderer who may or may not be after Harry's blood, but that's not important now!" She added, waving it away as she noticed Cedric's wide eyes. "And it got confiscated and now they're both angry and I don't know what to do!" He frowned.

"Well, from what I can tell, you were just looking out for them. Really, you're seriously under-appreciated if you ask me. You're loyal, beautiful, smart and kind and were obviously making sure they weren't hurt by doing what you did… and if they can't see or appreciate that, then they don't deserve you." Hermione looked up at him, eyes shining.

"You really think that?" He smiled, fondly tucking a loose curl behind her ear.

"I really think that."

They stood in silence, content in just studying the other for a moment.

"Hermione," Cedric started, caressing her cheek. "I-"

She suddenly jerked away, hearing a peal of laughter echo across the grounds.

"Oh my! I still have to finish my Potions Essay! And its three feet long! I'm going to have to go!" She looked apologetically at Cedric. "I'm sorry, Ced. Thank you though! I feel much better now!" And with that, she took off. With that, she left.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair that just refused to stay down. 'It's fine,' he told himself. 'He'd just tell her Tomorrow.'


End file.
